Disappointed with Minis

[MerricB]

Ok. I went out today a purchased the Start Pack. The figures I got were:

Axe Sister, Orc Spearfighter, Goblin Sneak, Human Wanderer, Man-at-Arms, Halfling Verteran, Gnome Recruit, Kobold Warrior, Tordek: Dwarf Fighter, Hyena, Half-Orc Fighter, Hound Archon, Half-Orc Assassin, Hell Hound, Elf Archer, and Zombie.

Common:10
Uncommon:5
Rare:1

Is this about the normal ratio per box?

That's exactly right. It's 1 Rare, 5 Uncommon, 10 Commons in Entry Packs, and 1 Rare, 3 Uncommon and 4 Common in Expansion packs. I have all these details on my website: http://www.3rdedition.org/merricb/mini.htm

You got some nice miniatures there, btw.

Also, what I haven't seen mentioned anywhere: These are made from a rubbery plastic so they bend. I had no idea about this. I like it. Can't count the number of times one of the swords/spears/whatever on my lead/pewter figures got snapped off on accident.

Someone tested the durability of these miniatures by running over Tordek with a car. Tordek survived. I think the base was slightly cracked, but the miniature was fine.

The soft plastic actually is one of their best points. It is so easy to transport them... incredibly easy. Occasionally, you get a miniature with a permanently deformed sword or spear - in those cases, it is suggested that you dunk them in hot water until they soften, put them in the correct position, and then dunk them in cold water.

Cheers!

 

[Klaus]

So when does Counter Collection Gold hit the streets?

Counter Collection Gold is currently in the layout stage, where we try and organize hundreds of creatures into pages of counters.

On a related note, Counter Collection 5: Summoned Creatures (the first _tin_ product) should be heading to distribution now. You might want to check that one out too, since there will be no overlap or repetition between CCGold and CC5, due to space constraints (As Fiery James aptly put it, "I'm pretty sure it can stop a bullet").

Seriously, I'm hooked on the counters, and Tin seems like a brilliant solution to the organization problem. I'm awaiting this eagerly. And the summoning collection of every summonable monster is a thing of beauty. i'm buying these the first chance I get.

Don't forget that the web-enhancement for CC5: Summoned Creatures (by yours truly ) is available at www.fierydragon.com .

Who wouldn't want a wild rooster as a familiar for that +3 on Intimidate checks?

 

[Altalazar]

Yes - Minis are unrelated to whether or not 3.5 is a good game.

I've found the randomization ,while annoying, isn't so bad - since I want a good collection of a variety of creatures, including a lot of the common play ones, like orcs, goblins, kobolds, etc. My only complaint is that some "common" creatures like that are uncommon or rare (gnolls and ogres, for instance, or even trolls).

But I bought a bunch - don't have them all, but have plenty now for my gaming purposes. I had a bunch of metal minis before, with maybe 50 painted and 80 unpainted.

And now I have a bunch of plastic minis for whatever use may come up in my game. Since I couldn't anticipate what I'd want in advance of every game I'd play anyway, the random is almost irrelevant, as long as I have a decent cross section. The fact that they are much cheaper than metal minis and already painted is just a bonus.

 

[stevelabny]

our group now has bought 3 starter packs, a handful of expansion packs and 1 case of harbinger, a handful of expansion packs and one case of dragoneye, and two expansion packs and one case of archfiends

results:

the dragoneye case was the most productive, producing at least one of everything except 6 rares. (the absolute best you could do is all but 4 rares)
the harbinger case (and all the extra packs too) is missing 11 rares (but theres more than 20 in that set) and 3 uncommons. the archfiends set is missing 6 rares and 3 uncommons. I have alread begun trading. (which is prolly a mistake cuz we need to buy a few more packs to have enough rares to trade 1 for 1)

The solution seems to buy an equal amount of packs to rares. Then trade. This assures you of at least one of everything. If you want doubles or armies of uncommons or rares, you have to take that into account and either buy more packs to trade with, or pay a premium in the secondary market.

I'm going to trade with one of the guys I play in another game of d&d with tomorrow, but after that, if anyone else on Enworld wants to take a look-see,
this is what I currently have (this list will change tomorrow after i see his list)

http://www.maxminis.com/hwlist.asp?user=stevelabny

 

[Glyfair]

Eventually! Sigh. That's the problem. All combinations should be available all the time. Of course, that would mean less sales for WOTC.

Not necessarily. However, it does mean more miniatures sitting on the shelf, not moving (unless WotC magically manages to create exactly what there is demand for). Miniatures that don't sell fast cost money, whether it be space used up in a retail store or space in a warehouse for what's not ordered yet. Even if you only do a variation on "print on demand," storing the molds cost money.

With the collectible aspect, the primary market doesn't have this problem. If you want the "normal" figures (which should, ideally, be the commons), you'll have to get the more exotic figures (which should, again ideally, be the uncommons and rares). The secondary market will have this problem, but WotC isn't going to be overly concerned about this market.

Now there are many disadvantages to the consumer for the collectible aspect, which has been amply covered here. However, there are advantages, too (which have been touched on).

The primary advantage is that a more low demand miniatures can be made. Someone criticised this by bring up examples like Mind Flayers. This isn't really what I mean by low demand miniatures. Mind Flayers are a D&D staple. Rare monsters would be monsters most players wouldn't ever use in their campaigns (the Krenshar from Chainmail might be an example). Exotic player characters would be, too. Everyone has human fighter miniatures. What about the Thri-Kreen sorcerer? WotC could do one and not have to worry about the fact that almost no one would buy one by choice.

True, many of these rare figures might easily be made by modifying other more common miniatures. However, the collectible miniatures aren't really directed at the type of customer who customizes his own miniatures. They are directed at the more common player who uses his miniatures unpainted, or with a half-finished paint job.