Reaper to produce pre-painted Plastic minis - Non-random

[Aus_Snow]

The important ones.

Did you get an answer on which country the manufacturing will take place / is taking place in? I didn't see it, but I was trying to scan quickly, so my apologies if I simply missed it.

I really don't want to go into any related questions/issues/other to do with that, but I would just like to know the country. That's all.

 

[w_earle_wheeler]

They're not bad. You can probably get such minis cheaper on the DDM secondary market during their release period. (Orcs and skeletons for $0.50 each; Trolls and ogres for about $2 each).

Cheers!

After shipping & handling costs from the secondary market, the prices will probably be about the same. At that point, Reaper wins out (for me) because I can order it through my gamestore. No PayPal, no bidding, no S&H!

 

[thedungeondelver]

Did you get an answer on which country the manufacturing will take place / is taking place in? I didn't see it, but I was trying to scan quickly, so my apologies if I simply missed it.

I really don't want to go into any related questions/issues/other to do with that, but I would just like to know the country. That's all.

I did not. I had bigger and more emotionally troubling fish to fry. I'd wager it's in the PacRim though.

ALTHOUGH -

With their statement that they have streamlined production is it that out of place to speculate that perhaps they're doing the minis themselves?

 

[Twowolves]

???

Actually, I'm pretty disappointed with those prices for the rank-and-file troops. eBay DDM orcs and skellies are much cheaper. The higher-end minis (ogre chieftan, maze minotaur) are in the pricing territory of DDM rares, or out-of-circulation DDM uncommons. Of course, all of this may be redeemed somewhat by the actual sculpts. But how good do I need a skeleton spearman to look?

The cheapest orc archer I found was at least $7, upwards of $20 (!!) for "buy it now" auctions on eBay. Almost as bad for orc spearmen. Under $2 each for packs of rank and file aren't bad in my eyes, assuming of course, they look good. And no shipping and handling gouging!

 

[DaveMage]

Prices look slightly higher than DDM, but the non-random factor is very nice.

Of course, I have to *see* them before I can truly compare.

 

[JVisgaitis]

???

Actually, I'm pretty disappointed with those prices for the rank-and-file troops. eBay DDM orcs and skellies are much cheaper.

Of course they are. Its a collectable game with a lot of commons on the market. Comparing the Reaper Miniature prices to a collectable game sold on eBay is pretty misguided. Looking at those prices compared to metal minis is a better perception of their value. I'll be first in line when these come out.

 

[Felon]

Of course they are. Its a collectable game with a lot of commons on the market. Comparing the Reaper Miniature prices to a collectable game sold on eBay is pretty misguided. Looking at those prices compared to metal minis is a better perception of their value.

For someone using the minis for their role-playing, the fact that the mini is part of a collectable game is irrelevant. Comparing the cost of a pre-painted plastic mini to that of a similar pre-painted plastic minis is pretty reasonable. Saying they should only compared to unpainted metal minis is rather nonsensical. This is about what's the better value for the customer, after all.

 

[Felon]

The cheapest orc archer I found was at least $7, upwards of $20 (!!) for "buy it now" auctions on eBay. Almost as bad for orc spearmen. Under $2 each for packs of rank and file aren't bad in my eyes, assuming of course, they look good. And no shipping and handling gouging!

Here's an orc with a spear for 34 cents:
http://cgi.ebay.com/D-D-Miniatures-...QQcategoryZ2537QQtcZphotoQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

As for orc archers, you've basically picked out the one mini that's hardest to come by as they are only found in Harbinger, the first set. They don't make more because, well, orcs are berserker melee critters who stink at archery. But hey, if you need orc archers, sounds like Reaper has an edge--at least until WotC releases some in a future set. If you want some cheaper than the Reaper minis, here's a set of three:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Orc-Archers-d20...tcZphotoQQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I'm not crazy about shipping costs, but sales tax is no picnic either where I live, and at least with shipping I can get a break by buying in bulk.

 

[Thunderfoot]

Okay.

I voiced my concern at Reaper and two very nice posts by ReaperClarke and ReaperBryan have definitely gone a great distance towards allaying my fears:

This post and this post both answer my concerns. A lot of them, anyway. The important ones.

So now we wait and see how the minis look.

I'm glad the guys at Reaper got back to you on this. I'm also glad to hear that they aren't dropping out of the metal biz anytime soon. BUT...I'm also itching to get my hands on the plastics.

 

[Twowolves]

Here's an orc with a spear for 34 cents:
http://cgi.ebay.com/D-D-Miniatures-...QQcategoryZ2537QQtcZphotoQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

As for orc archers, you've basically picked out the one mini that's hardest to come by as they are only found in Harbinger, the first set. They don't make more because, well, orcs are berserker melee critters who stink at archery. But hey, if you need orc archers, sounds like Reaper has an edge--at least until WotC releases some in a future set. If you want some cheaper than the Reaper minis, here's a set of three:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Orc-Archers-d20...tcZphotoQQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I'm not crazy about shipping costs, but sales tax is no picnic either where I live, and at least with shipping I can get a break by buying in bulk.

First off, that's not an orc with a spear, it's an orc with a stone axe, and not in armor either. Secondly, the archers you linked to are about the same price as the reaper plastics, counting shipping.

I didn't go out looking for expensive examples of DDM figures. I actually did this sort of search 6 months ago, because I ran Sons of Grummsh and wanted accurate minis to represent the foes in that module (plus the mods I made to the adventure). I ended up using the hobgoblin archers instead, and I was lucky to have a couple of orc spearmen (spearorcs??) from the 2-3 packs of Harbinger I had bought back in the day. I recall King Obould ran me about $10, and about $17 for a wyvern, but I did get some orc sergeants and orc reavers or thugs or something relatively cheaply, including a harbinger orc warrior that one seller threw in as a bonus after having screwed up my original order.

At any rate, I feel your sales tax pain (9-3/4%), but I only have a couple of hobby shops within about 300 miles, so I take the hit sometimes to throw them some business.

When all is said and done, I think the big factor will be the detail/paint jobs. DDMs have gotten MUCH better over the past 12-18 months. Hopefully Reaper won't have the same learning curve.