A problem with the miniatures industry.

[Gradine]

Neither 3d printing nor custom-ordered are anywhere near as accessible (in terms of cost particularly) as walking into a FLGS and finding a fig that matches your character even a little bit.

I don't really use minis in games so I don't have much personal stake in this, but I've stumbled across more than enough queer/trans/non-binary gaming spaces and groups in the past few months to know that there is genuinely a larger market for affordable androgynous/non-binary minis than there currently exists a supply of. I definitely don't buy that this is as much of of a "cost-benefits analysis" so much as it's an awareness issue among the major mini creators. As diverse as gamers have become in recent years (if not decades, really), content creators have often lagged behind.


Edit: I'll note that while it should go without saying, I definitely don't speak on behalf of all trans and/or non-binary gamers. My own experience with transition is pretty atypical as far as these things go, so I definitely wouldn't claim to speak with much significant authority. That said, this seems fairly like a fairly straightforward issue, where there is currently more demand than supply.

 

[S'mon]

There aren't any old people or fat people, either.

 

[Sacrosanct]

There aren't any old people or fat people, either.

Well, there are lots of old people. Just paint the hair white or grey. But there is a distinct lack of fat people. Even Hero Forge doesn't really have the option. You can adjust the weight and belly, but even at max settings, it's just a dad bod and not really fat.

 

[Gradine]

I once tried to make a mini for a character with a prosthetic leg and boy was that a pain

 

[Sacrosanct]

I once tried to make a mini for a character with a prosthetic leg and boy was that a pain

I guess it depends on how detailed you want it. There have been many times where I cut off parts of minis and cobble together other bits and pieces to get what I want. I removed a leg once and replaced it with a fake leg made from toothpicks

 

[Gradine]

I guess it depends on how detailed you want it. There have been many times where I cut off parts of minis and cobble together other bits and pieces to get what I want. I removed a leg once and replaced it with a fake leg made from toothpicks

If I recall correctly, my solution (using Hero Forge) was robot legs, and pants that had one of the sleeves sheared off. I remembered being fairly frustrated that I couldn't individually change leg types, and I am definitely not the crafty type at all.

I am overall much happier since I made the switch to TotM combat though.

 

[Dire Bare]

Equating finding minis for "fat and old people" to finding minis for queer or gender neutral folks is insulting. Fantasy gaming is usually aspirational, and most of us like to imagine our heroic characters are fit and, well, heroic. Which has zero to do with our own or our characters gender orientation. Besides, there are plenty of old wizard minis and if you paint your fighter's hair grey . . .

There is also a lot of assumptions that gender neutral minis would not sell. I'd love to see some actual data on that, as I doubt it's true at all.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Equating finding minis for "fat and old people" to finding minis for queer or gender neutral folks is insulting. Fantasy gaming is usually aspirational, and most of us like to imagine our heroic characters are fit and, well, heroic. Which has zero to do with our own or our characters gender orientation. Besides, there are plenty of old wizard minis and if you paint your fighter's hair grey . . .

There is also a lot of assumptions that gender neutral minis would not sell. I'd love to see some actual data on that, as I doubt it's true at all.

Honestly, I don't know how you could have "queer" minis. I mean, queer people look like everyone else. How would a mini look any different from any other mini? Gender neutral is a bit different because then you're going to any non-identifiable gender as an option. The aforementioned androgynous comment I had made. And I don't think it's insulting to equate that with the lack of body types (like overweight) minis. Both cases are people are underrepresented in the mini industry. "Fat" isn't inherently bad, or less heroic or less ideal than musclebound. It's a character. And characters come in all shapes and sizes. Friar Tuck, or Falstaff for example. (and Mr. Incredible and Volstagg) By only having PCs that are supermodels, it sets a false expectation of who can be a hero. That's a message I'm not a fan of.

Saying we should have more diverse choices in our minis for our PCs is a good thing. That includes many traditionally underrepresented groups of people, not just gender neutral.

IMO anyway.

 

[jasper]

What class are you looking for? I have seen fighters in full plate. Named Npcs may do. Some of the DragonHeist/mad Mage minis were lacking gender features except for the name.

 

[Sacrosanct]

What class are you looking for? I have seen fighters in full plate. Named Npcs may do. Some of the DragonHeist/mad Mage minis were lacking gender features except for the name.

Rogue. If they were an armored fighter, it would be much easier lol. But alas. A regularly clothed rogue that doesn't look like a ninja