Sell me on D&D Miniatures

[Aristotle]

I'd say that if you "only" want 15 to 20 minis a year, you might be better off going with non-randomized (more expensive but generally better quality) metal minis. There are some amazing metal minis out there. I really do wish I could paint.

My reason for saying that? If you are only going to get 2 to 4 boosters of any given expansion, randomization will most likely be a big factor for you. Inexpensive plastic minis are not, IMHO, less expensive so you can spend less money on the same amount of minis. They are less expensive so you can have many more minis for the money you would have spent on metal ones.

 

[Gez]

Game Outfitter has the Deathnkells on preorder for $93.95 (plus $8.95 shipping).

Bwahahaha! 1056 miniatures for $981.09!

If I were rich, I'd nearly want to order that just for the look on the postman's face.

 

[Tom Cashel]

So...D&D minis are fairly/very popular.

How are the Star Wars minis doing?

If they do well, does WotC have any plans to release a Modern line? Despite my large collection of metal, I'd love to have a random assortment of (cheap) modern minis.

 

[MrFilthyIke]

Despite my large collection of metal, I'd love to have a random assortment of (cheap) modern minis.

Ditto that, I'd love me some modern minis on the cheap

 

[kenobi65]

So...D&D minis are fairly/very popular.

How are the Star Wars minis doing?

By all accounts that I've read, very well. Allegedly, among the upcoming SW releases will be a massive AT-AT, in scale to the minis.

If they do well, does WotC have any plans to release a Modern line? Despite my large collection of metal, I'd love to have a random assortment of (cheap) modern minis.

That'd be cool, but boy, I wouldn't hold my breath. I strongly suspect the size of the fan base for the RPG, and the lack of a merchandisable draw to bring in non-RPGers, would make those a real niche product.

 

[Aristotle]

If they do well, does WotC have any plans to release a Modern line? Despite my large collection of metal, I'd love to have a random assortment of (cheap) modern minis.

That'd be cool, but boy, I wouldn't hold my breath. I strongly suspect the size of the fan base for the RPG, and the lack of a merchandisable draw to bring in non-RPGers, would make those a real niche product.

I don't think it'll happen either, but I do think a really well done set of modern minis would sell. Even if d20 Modern is a niche product, there are tons of other 'modern' games on the market that the minis would likely be great for (Shadowrun, WoD, Traveler, various GURPS settings, and so forth). The key would likely be to have a good base of generic enough minis to fit into lots of settings, and to not oversaturate the market with to many sets to quickly (maybe 2 expansions a year tops). The smaller expansions could cover all sorts of arenas from Urban Arcana and Modern Horror to Cyberpunk and Futuristic Military themes.

It might not have the same sales figures as the other mini lines, but I bet it would sell. If I had the business knowledge and the cash needed to get something like that started ... it's exactly the sort of product I wish I could put out.

 

[Steel_Wind]

Minaitures are great. The guys in my group have between them, literally thousands of plastic WotC miniatures. I donlt think there is a single mini from any set we are missing.

We go out of our way to acquire large numbers of miniatures we know we will need.

There have been numerous suggestions of acquiring single minaitures off of e-bay on this thread.

This is a good idea in the objective, but bad advice on the method.

I do not mean to suggest that getting specific types of miniatures you will need is a bad idea - that happens to be an excellent idea.

But e-bay is the wrong place to do that. The hassle of watching auctions and - above all - the transaction costs involved in getting these miniatures from e-bay adds up FAST and vastly increases the overall price for your minis.

If it's single minis you want (and lots of them too) - your best deals and lowest costs are not on e-bay, but at www.popularcollections.com

Their selection is excellent. They frequently have weekly specials of various common minis on for as low as 19 cents a miniature. Some times the deals are a little more, but still in the 40 cent to 70 cent range. Vidor, one of the guys in my group who shops a lot there, saw an offer for 19 cent shock lizards. He bought like 25 of them. Poof. five bucks.

Goblins 25 cents a piece. Poof. 15 bucks later, we got a big box of goblins to use. The list goes on and on,

Buying your minis as a combination of retail boxes in the store to get the rares and a base collection and getting specific miniatures you want off of PopularCollections.com allows you to amass large armies of useful creatures at a lower price. No messing around with auctions and significantly lower overall transaction costs.

e-Bay transaction costs add up so fast that "e-bay is for chumps" is fairly accurate when it comes to buying plastic WotC miniatures in the aftermarket.

My .02 cents.

 

[Mercule]

Well, I picked up a pack last night. I'm afraid I'm hopelessly hooked, despite only half of the minis being of any use to me. I think I agree about crack in the plastic.

 

[fredramsey]

I have mine separated in ziplock bags by type, and the bags stuffed into small plastic toolboxes.

Try doing THAT with your metal painted minis!

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Well, I picked up a pack last night. I'm afraid I'm hopelessly hooked, despite only half of the minis being of any use to me. I think I agree about crack in the plastic.

You were warned.