Dear Hasbro: about those minis

[Storm Raven]

I just don't get the whole complaining mentality. They are what they are. Why spend time whining about it?

Because we don't want that product, and would rather have one on the market that we would buy. The argument that you can't have affordable non-random miniatures with a good range of figures is trotted out, but heroscape kind of makes those arguments ring hollow.

Do you go to the supermarket and complain about the packing of the party trays?

I wouldn't buy it if it meant that I had to purchase the thing sight unseen and would get a random combination of a range of fifty or sixty different items.

The minis WOTC produces come in random packs. That's it. Buy them or don't buy them.

Most of us don't. We are saying what we would buy.

 

[Storm Raven]

The HeroScape minis aren't all fantasy though, are they? That would make the number lower.

Well, for use for D&D purposes, sure. But the range of figures is still 143 miniatures. The claim is often made that you must pick two of three options: (1) affordable minatures, (b) non-random miniatures, or (3) a wide range of figures.

And the point is that somehow with Heroscape someone has managed to make a reasonably wide range of non-random minatures and sell them for a reasonable price. That's not supposed to be possible. But it seems from the fact that they are on the market that it is. And I'm wondering why someone couldn't do that for D&D miniatures.

 

[MerricB]

Right now, Milton Bradley is actually doing something about this, on a smaller scale. The "HeroScape" game sells minis just the right size for D&D, and sells them in sets, .

Err, no. They're too big for D&D. Base size is 1.5" rather than 1", and the scale is larger as well.

Cheers!

 

[molonel]

I just don't get the whole complaining mentality. They are what they are. Why spend time whining about it? Do you go to the supermarket and complain about the packing of the party trays? The minis WOTC produces come in random packs. That's it. Buy them or don't buy them.

That depends. If I went to the grocery store, and bought a plain brown box which might contain eggs, or ice cream, or toilet paper, or cigarettes, or Diet Dr. Pepper depending on which booster pack I bought, yes, I probably would complain if that's all they sold.

 

[havoclad]

This law doesn't work well for me at all- I choose Cheap Prices and a Large Range of Figures, but the beholder is still $50!

Lol, if you choose "Cheap Prices" and "Large range of figures", by Merric's law, you do not get to chose "Non-Random Packaging." IE, if you want a specific figure, you have to deal with a secondary market. Or you can buy the (relatively) cheap packs and take yer chances.

As another example of Merric's law, consider Warhammer. They have a metric buttload of figures that you can buy individually (or in theme packs). They are not cheap, however.

I ran a game store for several years. Just trying to keep a full range of warhammer figures stocked was a mind-dulling full time job. That's a rant for another day though.

 

[Agamon]

That depends. If I went to the grocery store, and bought a plain brown box which might contain eggs, or ice cream, or toilet paper, or cigarettes, or Diet Dr. Pepper depending on which booster pack I bought, yes, I probably would complain if that's all they sold.

That's kinda apples and elephants. You don't go to the LGS and get a grab bag of a board game, a comic, a novel, a mini and die. You get a random assortment of D&D minis from a pre-described set. Big difference.

 

[MerricB]

Buying DDM in bulk is also nice. It presumes that you want most of the minis (which I normally do), and you get a very nice spread.

Cheers!

 

[Agamon]

Buying DDM in bulk is also nice. It presumes that you want most of the minis (which I normally do), and you get a very nice spread.

Exactly. If you play D&D, most of the monsters are useful.

 

[Echohawk]

Frankly, I'd be far more likely to pick up a pack like that as an impulse buy at the LGS than the newest splatbook or some crap like 'Three Dragon Ante.'

See now, you don't need to be rude about 'Three Dragon Ante' to make your point. It's actually a fun card game and worth picking up.

 

[thedungeondelver]

Dwarven Forge (the guys who make Master Maze) did this, at least at one point. They were pewter, not plastic, and, IIRC, they were considerably more expensive than you suggest. I have no idea how many they sold, or if they still do.

Nope, they were the same plaster that the dungeons are made out of (I own quite a lot of both ).

They didn't sell enough of them to keep them in production: they were terribly expensive. Beautiful minis, that's for sure. But just damned expensive.

I for one am glad they're focusing on terrain.

(Oh and as someone who likes to paint minis and has a boatload of just what I need in the critters department, let me be the first to say: ha-ha! )