A problem with the miniatures industry.

[Sacrosanct]

Very few people of colour either..

Well, to be fair, the facial details on minis is often so blurry they could be any ethnicity. Just depending on what color you use for paint.

 

[BookBarbarian]

Well, to be fair, the facial details on minis is often so blurry they could be any ethnicity. Just depending on what color you use for paint.

I was thinking this too but still not always a lot of, how do I phrase this, "natural hair" options.

 

[Sacrosanct]

I was thinking this too but still not always a lot of, how do I phrase this, "natural hair" options.

Very true. In order to get a fantasy mini who was African (and wasn’t dressed in African tribal garb), I had to take a modern mini and glue on a sword and shield.

 

[BookBarbarian]

Very true. In order to get a fantasy mini who was African (and wasn’t dressed in African tribal garb), I had to take a modern mini and glue on a sword and shield.
View attachment 114984

That looks rad.

And it reminds me that I have a few dozen Heroclix lying around that I don't use anymore that I could modify.

 

[Dire Bare]

Kickstarter could be a good gauge of popularity and demand.

Sure, yeah. Are you referring to past Kickstarters? Or suggesting someone should try a Kickstarter themed with non-traditional minis (gender neutral, fat & old, etc).

Has there already been a Kickstarter featuring gender neutral minis that tanked? Or "fat & old" minis?

There have been plenty of miniature Kickstarters that featured mostly "heroic & sexy" miniatures that have done very well, we've been talking about the most recent Reaper Bones Kickstarter in this thread. And those certainly show that the traditional style of miniatures do sell well. But that's about it, these successful Kickstarters say nothing about how other types of minis might do, as they aren't offered.

If the next big Kickstarter for miniatures included the traditional style of sculpts in their "base package" and then also offered an "add-on" featuring gender neutral minis, and/or minis of other types not often seen, that would start to give us some data. If the company shared the data with us, that is.

Or, of course, a Kickstarter focused on providing the types of miniatures we've been talking about here. That would be interesting.

 

[Xenonnonex]

Sure, yeah. Are you referring to past Kickstarters? Or suggesting someone should try a Kickstarter themed with non-traditional minis (gender neutral, fat & old, etc).

Has there already been a Kickstarter featuring gender neutral minis that tanked? Or "fat & old" minis?

There have been plenty of miniature Kickstarters that featured mostly "heroic & sexy" miniatures that have done very well, we've been talking about the most recent Reaper Bones Kickstarter in this thread. And those certainly show that the traditional style of miniatures do sell well. But that's about it, these successful Kickstarters say nothing about how other types of minis might do, as they aren't offered.

If the next big Kickstarter for miniatures included the traditional style of sculpts in their "base package" and then also offered an "add-on" featuring gender neutral minis, and/or minis of other types not often seen, that would start to give us some data. If the company shared the data with us, that is.

Or, of course, a Kickstarter focused on providing the types of miniatures we've been talking about here. That would be interesting.

My point is that companies could use the Kickstarter platform to provide the miniatures that are being talked about in this thread!
I am not sure what your spiel about tanking has to do with that.

My reply here is responding to Dire Bare's message of wondering what the point of my post on Kickstarter was. His post has since being edited.

 

[5atbu]

I have been lobbying Dark Sword Minis on this and they have responded really well (people of colour).

Male Warrior with Sword and Shield

<div class="desc-disp"> <div class="title-disp">Male Warrior with Sword and Shield - DSM7357</div> <div class="sculptor-disp">Sculpted by Tom Meier</div> <div class="mini-desc"></div> <div class="image-list"> <img src="{{medi

www.darkswordminiatures.com

Female Mage with Staff

<div class="desc-disp"> <div class="title-disp">Female Mage with Staff - DSM7356</div> <div class="sculptor-disp">Sculpted by Tom Meier</div> <div class="mini-desc"></div> <div class="image-list"> <img src="{{media url="wysiw

www.darkswordminiatures.com

The Game of Thrones range has women with normal boobs, and in fact several could be quite gender neutral, for example:

Mance Rayder - Wildling Leader - George R.R. Martin Masterworks - Miniature Lines

<div class="desc-disp"> <div class="title-disp">George R.R. Martin Masterworks<br /> Mance Rayder - Wildling Leader - DSM5023 </div> <div class="sculptor-disp">Sculpted by Jeff Grace</div> <div class="mini-desc"> <p>Jeff Grace did anoth

www.darkswordminiatures.com

Oathsworn also do an excellent "Sensible Shoes" range for women adventurers who are, well, sensible:

Sensible Shoes oathsworn-miniatures.ashop.me

www.oathswornminiatures.co.uk

 

[Dire Bare]

I have been lobbying Dark Sword Minis on this and they have responded really well (people of colour).

The Game of Thrones range has women with normal boobs, and in fact several could be quite gender neutral, for example:

Oathsworn also do an excellent "Sensible Shoes" range for women adventurers who are, well, sensible:

Thanks for the link to Dark Sword Minis and Oathsworn Minis, it's good to find companies trying to expand offerings like this!

And "sensible shoes"! Love this. I HATE, HATE fantasy, sci-fi, superhero art with women warriors wearing some kind of weird high heel shoes. I'd love to see high heeled shoes erased from reality itself, but at least have them exorcised from fantasy art!

 

[Hussar]

The question here is more of novelty and humor. Those will generate their own market if they're interesting enough. Nobody approaches Reaper saying they want a dire cabbage. But they see one and if it's interesting enough, they'll want and get it.

That's not exactly an argument against making androgynous minis though. Wouldn't the same logic also apply then? Make interesting minis and they generate their own market? IOW, if Reaper (and other mini companies) are willing to throw money at the wall on novelty minis in the hopes that someone will buy them, you'd think they might actually make minis for people who already want to buy them.

 

[billd91]

That's not exactly an argument against making androgynous minis though. Wouldn't the same logic also apply then? Make interesting minis and they generate their own market? IOW, if Reaper (and other mini companies) are willing to throw money at the wall on novelty minis in the hopes that someone will buy them, you'd think they might actually make minis for people who already want to buy them.

The logic might not apply. People seek out minis to generally represent their character (and maybe a bit of a more heroic version of themselves). I’ve known gamers to be really particular (even myself - do you know how hard it is to find a mini that can pass as a halfling paladin?). That’s different from making a novelty that may generate demand beyond that narrow representational slice. For example, I remember a mini of a gorilla in a gangster suit with a tommy gun back in the late 80s/early 90s. Not many games are going to use it, but who wouldn’t have fun painting it?