Miniatures - what would you want and/or buy?

[NewJeffCTHome]

I'm starting to think of starting my own miniatures company, hopefully something that can be used with D&D and also with wargaming.
Is there anything out there that hasn't been done? It seems like Warhammer is the 800 pound gorilla in the field, while Reaper & the D&D miniatures seem to do okay as well.

There are also a lot of smaller companies like Rackham, Foundry, Fenryll, Adiken, Shadowforge & a ton of others. I'm not sure how profitable the are, though.

Is there room for more, do you think?

My expertise is not in sculpting, as I have no experience. My main advantage is that my father-in-law is a leading engineer in the casting & forging field in an LCC (Low Cost Country) and that my wife is a very good businesswoman. I have more of a general idea of what I think will work and want to explore if it will work.

Any places I can start with research?

Thanks

 

[Henrix]

I dare say that you ought to go to The Miniatures Page, look around, and perhaps ask the same sort of question on their forums.

They do have a special forum for Manufacturing, and another for The Industry .

I'd say that there is always "room" for another company, but basically none of them are making any money, except a very few at the top. Starting a miniature business is not the thing to do for making money, it is probably something you do for love.

 

[Templeton580]

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[Felon]

My expertise is not in sculpting, as I have no experience. My main advantage is that my father-in-law is a leading engineer in the casting & forging field in an LCC (Low Cost Country) and that my wife is a very good businesswoman.

Casting and forging? So we're not talking cheap, durable, pre-painted plastic minis, but rather expensive, fragile, unpainted pewter? World of difference there.

 

[NewJeffCTHome]

That is true, but they sell products to companies like Boeing... however, if you do business in this country, it's not about how knowledgeable you are about the product, it's about relationships. If a leading expert that has given seminars on his topic asks around & finds a factory that can make pewter items or plastic items, then they will likely be happy to help him out, as helping a guy of his stature out can help their company in the long run.

 

[Mandeville]

I think that modern minis is a great idea.

 

[NewJeffCTHome]

hey, i'm like 1 town over from you in Manchester! They have companies that make modern minis, but I don't know how extensive they are...

 

[Felon]

Modern minis are a neat idea, but I'm not sure they'd sell enough to keep you in business.

Actually, selling non-randomized cheap, plastic, pre-painted minis would be the way to go. Just make what people want (and if they look cool enough, folks will want them). Stick to basics like dragons, giants, and humanoids from the SRD initially.

 

[Simplicity]

Modern minis would put you in a class on your own.
I don't recommend going into fantasy minis...
WotC's prepainted minis are unbelievably good, and I think competing with them would be
like standing in front of a train.

Dungeon's editorial staff made the observation that complete campaigns are becoming more popular. The reason, I think, is that the average gamer has aged significantly. People just have less time to spend on gaming. And that means less time on painting metal minis.

Not that people don't do it still. I just think the numbers are dwindling.

 

[pogre]

Not that people don't do it still. I just think the numbers are dwindling.

Sales do not reflect this at all. One of the few hobby areas relatively unscathed by the recent downturns was miniatures.

I do think that RPGers in general are doing less painting, but of course that's due to the pre-paints and the reasons you mention.

Modern minis have been a dead end historically. Fantasy and sci-fi way out sell modern when it comes to minis.

The key to making the thing get off the ground is ponying up the cash to get big name sculptors. Most of them are freelancers anyway. I'm a big fan of Chaz Elliot and Werner Klocke, but go with the biggest name that does a style you like.