[news] Chainmail is back

Olive · Jan 14, 2003

see, i don't want 20 kobolds, but it would be cool to have them.

i'm actually worried that they will be 28mm, not 25 mm, which will make them look wierd with my 25mm reaper minis...

so much to worry about!!!

Olgar Shiverstone · Jan 15, 2003

Grrr.

I was looking forward to the release of the new minis game and combat rules.

While I have nothing against plastic figures per se (I'm sure they're a good way to get a lot of people into the hobby), I'd really like to see an accompanying pewter line that is *not* collectable.

I use my Chainmail minis for D&D. I like painting, and I want to know what I'm getting. I bought a lot of Chainmail figures because of their ease of use in D&D. But I probably won't buy plastic, and I definitely won't buy if I don't know what I'm getting.

Anyone tell WOTC that D&D is not MtG, and we don't want "collectible" (random lot assignment)?

Kevin O'Reilly · Jan 15, 2003

Given that someone with a good arm and a small rock could hit Wiz kids from Wizards HO, I wonder if there isn't a licensing agreement between to the two in the offing.

Let's face it, how many companies actually have the expertise to cast and paint the plastic minis at a competitive price and as has been noted, MK is a dwindling product line.

Pramas · Jan 15, 2003

Olive said:
see, i don't want 20 kobolds, but it would be cool to have them.

i'm actually worried that they will be 28mm, not 25 mm, which will make them look wierd with my 25mm reaper minis...

so much to worry about!!!

I wouldn't worry, as Reaper minis haven't actually been 25mm in years. They call them "heroic 25mm", which means "not 25mm". They tend to be 28-30mm.

Olive · Jan 15, 2003

Pramas said:
I wouldn't worry, as Reaper minis haven't actually been 25mm in years. They call them "heroic 25mm", which means "not 25mm". They tend to be 28-30mm.

you sure? they do a heroic range (which i thought were like 35mm), but they also do a non heroic range. and the Dark Heroes Legends minis i've got a definitely smaller that my GW minis...

Olgar Shiverstone · Jan 15, 2003

Kevin O'Reilly said:
Given that someone with a good arm and a small rock could hit Wiz kids from Wizards HO, I wonder if there isn't a licensing agreement between to the two in the offing.

Bet you're right. Edit: Probably going to revive MK by sticking the D&D name all over it (with the appropriate d20 rules).

Why does this make me smell another round of personnel changes at WOTC?

Kevin O'Reilly · Jan 15, 2003

If WoTC are trying to make this into a collectable game I hope they realize that the figure in MK etc is not the collectable
: The base is.

Kevin O'Reilly · Jan 15, 2003

Olive said:
you sure? they do a heroic range (which i thought were like 35mm), but they also do a non heroic range. and the Dark Heroes Legends minis i've got a definitely smaller that my GW minis...

He's right, they are closer to 28mm. Stand them along side any true 25mm wargaming model, like Foundry or LoTR, and you'll see they are bigger.

GW figs are cartoon 30mm, meaning the proportions are not to scale as well as being bigger.

Chris, didn't you recommend this strategy initially?

KenM · Jan 15, 2003

I have been gaming for 20 years, most of the reaper minis are not that bad size wise with the old ral patha stuff. I bet wizards is going to realse the new minis with the revised core books, I would not be surpised if wizards does something stupid like saying "you have to use the new figs to play DnD" which i know no old players will do.

MerricB · Jan 15, 2003

I'm looking forward to this. I like MageKnight (though I very rarely play it), and feel the best quality about the game is how cheap it really is to play!.

Mass combat requires large numbers of miniatures (a pain), and hopefully the price will be low enough from WotC so that this new line will be playable.

Random packs? Hmm... I'll wait until I see them before judging whether or not this is a good move. It might have the effect of bringing the price of the entire line down, and of course you can always buy individual figures on the secondary market - the MageKnight secondary market is extremely affordable.

Here in Ballarat, most of the common MK figures retail for aus$1 (about us$0.50) - if I wanted a group of 20 orc figures, that'd be very affordable. Compare to original Chainmail prices, where it'd be somewhere around aus$100. That's one-fifth the price!

So, here's the pros and cons of the Random factor:

Pros:
* The entire line is cheaper, because they don't have to worry about some figure runs not selling.
* There will be a secondary market which will allow you to buy common figures very cheaply indeed.
* You'll be able to get a lot of figures cheaply.

Cons:
* Difficulty in obtaining the one figure you want.
* Some unique/rare figures will be a lot of money to buy on the secondary market.

Personally, I think the random run may well be an excellent idea. It's also better for retailers, as they don't have to gamble on individual figures that might not sell.

Cheers!