Miniatures - what would you want and/or buy?

[Felon]

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.

If competing against WotC straight-up, perhaps. So work an angle WotC isn't working, like non-randomized sets. Sets of monsters at that, as the majority of WotC's minis are humanoids.

Hell, even getting WotC's sloppy seconds would probably be better than what would be earned off of modern minis. Not sure exactly what we're talking about in terms of a modern minis market. Army men for wargaming? Guys in trenchcoats and sunglasses for some non-existent Matrix RPG?

 

[Gospog]

If you're looking for sculptors...

I'm a big fan of Chaz Elliot and Werner Klocke, but go with the biggest name that does a style you like.

And look into hiring my favorite sculptor, Gene VanHorne (whom I believe is still freelance). You may not hear his name as much as some of the others, but he is amazing.

Some of the best sculpts from Reaper and Legendary Egos are from Gene.

 

[Romnipotent]

I want a plastic kit Terrasque... so I can paint it pink and purple

 

[JoeGKushner]

You definatly need to find out more about miniatures. While Games Workshop may be the "big" dog, I've heard that they've lost (some/lot/none depending on who you ask) ground to the guys who do Confronation and the guys who do Warmachine. Most say that they haven't lost du to the D&D minis, because it's a different market. Don't know if I believe that but.... Anyway, the point is that while Games Workshop is the big dog, don't think that they are the only one or that there isn't a ton of competition. Heck, depending on who you ask, War Gods is either the next big thing or a medium game.

As far as painting minis, yes, I have less time. Does that stop me from buying minis? No. Much of my gen con money was spent on the minis I can't find around the local areas and if I had more money, more moeny would've been spent in that field.

 

[NewJeffCTHome]

oh, I will make sure I do a lot of research... I'm not one to leap before I look. I still have a lot to do in that regards. And, I realize that while GW is the big dog in the field, there are a ton of others out there. I have a bunch of Confrontation stuff, including some of the original Fiannas, and I have plenty of stuff from small to medium size companies like Adiken, Shadowforge, Chronopia, Fenryll, etc. My research is going to involve if I have any competitive advantage over the small to mid sized companies, or how much I'd need to sell to gain an advantage.

 

[Derfel]

Pre-painted modern plastic minis, 28-30mm.

No one's doing them. You'll see how many others would like them...

I totally agree. We've been playing a d20 modern game for a while now, and would kill for decent pre-painted modern minis. So far we've made due with some Cthulu minis a friend has, star wars minis and a few select dnd minis where applicable (zombies, etc....)

 

[Shadowdancer]

Prepainted non-collectible moderns and futures, for science fiction games such as Traveller, Stargate, etc., would be nice.

 

[Jupp]

I am by no means an expert in this field but my believe is that it is not that important what kind of genre your minis are (modern, sci-fi, fantasy, etc) but the style they have. Rackham, a French company who does the Confrontation minis, did break into a field that was shared by some big players like WotC, Games Workshop, Reaper and a gazillion of smaller companies. IMO the reason they came out so big was because they have a very distinctive style on their minis. I think Rackham minis are instantly recognisable when you see them and they have about the most detailed minis you can find. Granted, they are not everyones taste, but given the fierce competition they have they seem to be doing very well in the market. They did not get that big because they did an awfull lot of advertising but because they have a certain style and a high quality. AFAIK most of their initial success came from word-of-mouth marketing of their customer base (and from the fact that the best painters on the planet seem to work for/with Rackham at the moment ).

Just my .0002 cents

P.s.:
I also think that the customer base for things like Modern minis is not really compareable to genres like Sci-Fi or even classic fantasy. Modern is a small niche in a niche market Personally I would certainly not build a business model based on Modern minis. But I would think about doing a Modern line once I have settled down and have enough $ to back up the risk should the Modern idea fail.

 

[sniffles]

As a mini collector, I'd have to say that Jupp's right about style and quality. I personally don't collect Rackham minis (too large and too odd-looking for my needs) but they are definitely distinctive and well sculpted. I don't think most people will be willing to purchase generic blobs any longer (remember the earliest lead minis?).

From my own experience as a customer, variety is key. I don't need another generic elf with a bow or potbellied halfling or rogue with a dagger behind his back. The current edition of D&D encourages variety and creativity, and minis that are intended for that audience need to support those facets of the game.

There's also a small but avid market of people who paint minis just as a hobby, not for any use in a game. Most mini manufacturers these days seem to be taking this group into consideration when choosing what minis to offer in their product lines.

You may not really need to look at GW if you are considering marketing minis for use with roleplaying games. There are certainly some people who do use GW minis for that purpose, but in my experience most people who buy GW minis use them for the purpose for which they were intended: tabletop battle games.

 

[NewJeffCTHome]

From my own experience as a customer, variety is key. I don't need another generic elf with a bow or potbellied halfling or rogue with a dagger behind his back. The current edition of D&D encourages variety and creativity, and minis that are intended for that audience need to support those facets of the game.

There's also a small but avid market of people who paint minis just as a hobby, not for any use in a game. Most mini manufacturers these days seem to be taking this group into consideration when choosing what minis to offer in their product lines.

You may not really need to look at GW if you are considering marketing minis for use with roleplaying games. There are certainly some people who do use GW minis for that purpose, but in my experience most people who buy GW minis use them for the purpose for which they were intended: tabletop battle games.

Well, I have two rather large Warhammer armies - Empire & Orcs and Goblins and neither has yet to have been used as a table top war game. Granted, I'm probably an exception, but I'm sure I'm not alone. (I just don't have time to learn the game!)

I might just end up trying to help companies get their minis produced cheaper, which I don't know if anybody is big enough for that to help...