Alternatives to WotC Minis

[Li Shenron]

Also, a company cannot use the d20 license to produce miniatures (i.e. stick the d20 logo on the packaging), so any such minis must be based only on open game content. To use the d20 license in this way would be a violation of the d20 system guide 5.0.

I don't understand what you mean... do they have to put the d20 logo on the box to sell minis? :\ I think they can make the minis they want, who cares about the logo? There could be problems for some monsters such as Illithids and Beholders if WotC raises copyright issues (but I don't know if WotC can copyright the abstract form of creatures) or if you make them too similar to pictures in the MM. Otherwise, why do they need to conform at all to d20? After all, they will be minis usable with every RPG...

 

[Wombat]

I could answer this question so many different ways...

First up, I loath the random selection. When I buy minis, it is because I want something specific. Equally, I use very few monsters out of the Monster Manual, et alia, so many of the creatures are useless to me.

On top of this I really like painting minis, but don't have enough time to do so. For the most part I prefer to be able to paint them, but if I could get decent quality masses of standard critters and opponents (orc/goblin types, skeletons, zombies, common soldiers, thieves), I might well buy a set, given a good price.

I have been underwhelmed with the price, selection, and even design of many of the minis to date, but some of them are quite lovely. Here, I am extremely torn, especially on the design issue.

Ye gods and little fishes, I don't know how to answer this poll!

 

[JVisgaitis]

Well, if they want to compete with WotC they're going to have to learn Lesson #1 of Business: your labour costs must be competitive.

All of the production work would be done in China with the figures and molds being created in the US. Believe me, I'd rather keep the work domestic, but there is just no chance we would ever be able to compete if we went that route.

 

[JVisgaitis]

I don't understand what you mean... do they have to put the d20 logo on the box to sell minis?

We wouldn't have to put the d20 logo on the minis to sell them, but if the logo was on there we would probably attract more potential buyers and reach a larger audience. The way the d20 license is structured, there is no way we could ever use the logo. Not that I find that to be a concern. Minis are minis and they are purchased strictly on aesthetic taste. You buy and use what you think looks cool. Also, we would be able to create monsters that aren't in the SRD. A lot of other companies have Eye Tyrants (Beholders) and other minis based off existing monsters. We would just need to be very careful to design our own versions of these creatures.

 

[shady]

I think plastic minis that are well done can look fine... it is the paint job that matters. You can certainly see plenty of nice looking plastic minis from the Games Workshop folks - but, you have to paint them yourself.

I just haven't bought any WotC minis because the ones I have seen were not well painted, and I don't like the randomized idea.

As a Warhammer player I would say that the advantage of the GW plastic minis is that they come in components and you can individualise them as a result. So a regiment of 12 or so troops could with most of the latest mini lines include 12 differentiated individuals - this is great with, for example, militia. GW typically use metals for special characters these days, which also works. And painting is a great hobby - I actually restarted doing it for non-WH because the WotC minis drove me back to using minis for RPG, while providing an insufficient range to do so.

My general take on it would be:
- the randomisation is terrible, and particularly uneconomic with Giants of Legend, which was an extremely uncollectable set if you weren't heavily into trading. I gave up at that point.
- the latest WotC models aren't so bad, either in sculpt or paint quality. So it's achievable at a certain scale. In general the latest minis from anyone are better than they were 5 years ago, so if you go down the Mage Knight route of reusing old Ral Partha minis (presumably from another supplier) try to get recent ones. Reaper for example might be a good partner.
- I'd recommend 28mm as a standard scale these days looking at the industry
- the plastics used for WotC are far better for this market than Mage Knight or even GW ... if you buy these things in large numbers you'll keep them in a shoe box, and they need to be able to stand up to that
- if your guys in China can't get the eyes right, tell them not to bother.

 

[Gez]

If they're as good quality as WotC's, and no more than 20% more expensive (the price of non-randomness), I'd buy them.

 

[Gundark]

That's partially my desire for a product like this. If you need 30 skeletons for tonight's game, you should just be able to buy a skeletons set.

This is why I didn't hop onto the WotC bandwagon, random sucks. I have spent way too much money on CCGs in the past to start randomness again. However the only thing is cost, if I'm paying out the nose then I'm not touching them either.

 

[JVisgaitis]

As a Warhammer player I would say that the advantage of the GW plastic minis is that they come in components and you can individualise them as a result.

Their plasttics are the best on the market today, and no one can touch them. Although I must say the new multipart minis for Starship Troopers by Mongoose are looking really cool. Here's a link.

Money and all that aside, I would kill to release an adventurers pack of each race with multipart pieces which would allow you to make any adventurer type. Different bodies, heads, arms, weapons, etc. The problem with plastic sprues is a huge expense in tooling and creating the molds. That would be a dream product of mine, but I don't see that happening anytime soon.

 

[Davelozzi]

Another weapon / armor combo that is sorely lacking is the wizard or wizard-like miniature who isn't holding a damn staff and wearing a robe.

...or one without a long beard. Non-Gandalf looking wizards are hard to find, especially younger ones like those featured in most adventuring parties. Reaper has started cranking out a few, but they're still a minority.

 

[NewJeffCT]

All of the production work would be done in China with the figures and molds being created in the US. Believe me, I'd rather keep the work domestic, but there is just no chance we would ever be able to compete if we went that route.

Well, if you need somebody with connections to China, let me know... my wife does business there all the time & speaks, reads & writes the language and negotiating these sorts of things (and all the logistics involved in the supply chain process) is her line of work.

my email is newjeffct@yahoo.com