D&D 5E WizKids Announce Frameworks Custom Sprue-Based Minis

[Jefe Bergenstein]

You pay more money because you get to spend more time assembling and painting?

I'm a weirdo, but I love putting HIPS minis together. Maybe its just because I cut my teeth on metal minis (recommended by 0/10 dentists!) but not having to pin everything is great and just makes it like a little puzzle.

 

[Ibrandul]

I'm a weirdo, but I love putting HIPS minis together. Maybe its just because I cut my teeth on metal minis (recommended by 0/10 dentists!) but not having to pin everything is great and just makes it like a little puzzle.

Not weird. I've only ever pinned a few metal minis, but assembling plastic sprue minis is a real joy for me too.

 

[teitan]

You pay more because they're highly detailed and come with a fair amount of customization. Depending on the kit, they come with multiple heads, weapons, and even some accessories.



At $50, that's only $7.15 a unit which is fairly decent for a well made miniature. With miniatures in RPGs, I find it's generally easier to stick to purchasing and painting models for PCs and special monsters/NPCs such as beholders, orc bosses, dragons, etc., etc. but it does become cost prohibitive for many people when you start purchasing minis for rank & file enemies like orcs, kobolds, goblins, etc., etc. Honestly, at $50 for seven miniatures, I'd rather go to Games Workshop and purchase a $42 box of 20 grots (goblins) which comes out to $2.10 each. I could get 20 savage orruks (orks) for $60 which is only $3 each.

I really like the WizKids monsters they produce. This is a very large Magic the Gathering Wolf they make and it's a good value at $16.00. I have not been a big fan of the humans, dwarves, elves, or other PC type miniatures they make. The sculpts are okay, I guess, but I don't find them aesthetically pleasing. I think WizKids is trying to directly compete with the likes of Games Workshop with their sprue miniatures. A significant percentage of gamers will continue to purchase the cheaper non-customizable miniatures that are currently being sold. (And are a good value in my estimation.)

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It’s not decent. It’s more than GW who everyone complains about being so expensive. Goobertown Hobbies breaks down the cost. The new Reaper kobolds are $7 for a pack of 6 and they have 3 different sets of 6. That’s 18 minis for $21. They have new orcs coming that will be around $4 each unless they do 2 pack then probably $7 and their metals are just as inexpensive for some excellent sculpts and diversity. These are new bones, not old white bendy bones with low res gummy plastic.

 

[MGibster]

It’s not decent. It’s more than GW who everyone complains about being so expensive. Goobertown Hobbies breaks down the cost. The new Reaper kobolds are $7 for a pack of 6 and they have 3 different sets of 6. That’s 18 minis for $21.

I'm a fan of Reaper, particularly their new plastic models versus their old Bones line, as I think they offer inexpensive miniatures for a good value. And honestly, for kobolds, I'm much more likely to purchase from Reaper than I am from WizKids. But if I wanted more choices in how my kobolds were posed and what they were armed with I'd likely go with WizKids.

Color me as someone who would only care about randomized sprue-based miniatures purely to use for PCs. THAT'S what I'd want lots of options and bits for-- to be able to make my elf druid mini look and be holding what I wanted them to.

They're not randomized, but I'm with you. I don't mind spending decent money for heroes, important NPCs, or monsters but I'm not going to spend a whole lot per miniature on hordes.

 

[DEFCON 1]

They're not randomized, but I'm with you. I don't mind spending decent money for heroes, important NPCs, or monsters but I'm not going to spend a whole lot per miniature on hordes.

Yeah, that's one thing I've always found curious over the years... that the mini makers I've seen haven't even done what seems to be the most obvious thing, in making at the very least a male and female version of every PC mini in whatever race/class combo they come up with. And this doesn't even approach the fact that most race/class combos don't even get touched upon either. I mean even just the WotC pre-painted minis you can find male dwarves in full armor and battleaxe over and over... but heaven forbid you want something like a bard, druid, or wizard. You'll be lucky to see one of that type, and most likely only either male or female. It's really kind of ridiculous.

 

[MGibster]

Yeah, that's one thing I've always found curious over the years... that the mini makers I've seen haven't even done what seems to be the most obvious thing, in making at the very least a male and female version of every PC mini in whatever race/class combo they come up with.

Check out the WizKids line of unpainted miniatures. You'll often find various race/class combos in both male and female varieties. i.e. You'll see pack with two male elf wizards, one representing a low level the other a higher level, and another pack with two female elf wizards. While I like a lot of the monster figures from that range, I personally find most of their PC miniatures to aesthetically displeasing to my eye and no fun to paint. I prefer the Reaper miniatures for PCs. . I think both Reaper and WizKids do a fairly decent job with representing women in their lines. Reaper is a bit more prone to having some cheesecake, but, personally, I'm okay with a little cheesecake as long as I have other options. I want to say this is a WizKids druid but it might be a Warlock.

I mean even just the WotC pre-painted minis you can find male dwarves in full armor and battleaxe over and over... but heaven forbid you want something like a bard, druid, or wizard. You'll be lucky to see one of that type, and most likely only either male or female. It's really kind of ridiculous.

I have found this frustrating as well. I don't hold it against companies too much because I think there's a legitimate worry that some miniatures just won't sell very well. Back in the early days, Games Workshop actually produced female Space Marines but stopped when store owners complained that they couldn't sell them. A few years later, when Necromunda came out with the all female Escher gang, they couldn't keep 'em on the shelves they were so popular. One of the things I really like about Reaper is that they have all sorts of odd miniatures. When I walked into a game store in Fayetteville, Arkansas it was not with the intention of walking out with a piggy hauling a cart miniature.

 

[Azzy]

Assembly is my least favorite part of mini painting. Just looking at those unassembled models makes me feel like I'm on the border of some terrible hell made just for me.

Heh, if we were in the same area, I'd take over assemby duties for you—I'm a model-builder at heart.

 

[teitan]

Yeah, that's one thing I've always found curious over the years... that the mini makers I've seen haven't even done what seems to be the most obvious thing, in making at the very least a male and female version of every PC mini in whatever race/class combo they come up with. And this doesn't even approach the fact that most race/class combos don't even get touched upon either. I mean even just the WotC pre-painted minis you can find male dwarves in full armor and battleaxe over and over... but heaven forbid you want something like a bard, druid, or wizard. You'll be lucky to see one of that type, and most likely only either male or female. It's really kind of ridiculous.

Reaper has gone a long way toward alleviating this with their line and especially the last couple years. With their plastics and weapons packs it’s easy to customize most of their minis. Bones Black has seen a huge increase in quality as they’ve learned to work with the material to get the most out of it and USA Bones rival Metal in their detail.

 

[MGibster]

I take it back. The kobolds are overpriced.

 

[pogre]

Yeah, that's one thing I've always found curious over the years... that the mini makers I've seen haven't even done what seems to be the most obvious thing, in making at the very least a male and female version of every PC mini in whatever race/class combo they come up with. And this doesn't even approach the fact that most race/class combos don't even get touched upon either. I mean even just the WotC pre-painted minis you can find male dwarves in full armor and battleaxe over and over... but heaven forbid you want something like a bard, druid, or wizard. You'll be lucky to see one of that type, and most likely only either male or female. It's really kind of ridiculous.

In a similar sense, I used to like the three stage characters Ral Partha put out years ago. I also like the figures they put out with a mounted and dismounted version. They also had a series of male and female versions of a PC class.